Pythia

The Pythia was the priestess of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, in Greece, who delivered the god’s oracles. Seated on a tripod, she gave answers that priests then put into form, often in verse. Cities, kings and private individuals came to consult her before an important decision, from around the 8th century BCE until the end of antiquity. Her answers were reputed to be ambiguous. The nature of her inspired state, whether trance or the effect of gases rising from the ground, is still debated by historians.